Hurricane Erin, the first major storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, has proven itself a force to be reckoned with, rapidly intensifying, weakening, and then regaining strength, all while threatening communities from the Caribbean to the U.S. East Coast. According to the National Hurricane Center, Erin re-intensified into a Category 4 hurricane late Sunday night, August 17, after completing an eyewall replacement cycle—a meteorological process that often signals a storm is reorganizing and about to grow even more powerful.
Earlier that same day, Erin had weakened to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, its outer bands lashing the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The storm’s fluctuating intensity has kept forecasters and residents on edge, as its size increased even as its peak winds temporarily diminished. By Sunday night, the hurricane’s center was located about 275 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 165 miles east of Grand Turk Island, moving west-northwest at 13 mph, as reported by the National Hurricane Center.
Erin’s journey through the Atlantic has been marked by rapid changes. Just a day earlier, on August 16, the hurricane had reached an exceedingly dangerous Category 5 status with maximum winds of 160 mph—making it the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 to do so. This period of rapid intensification saw its winds increase by a staggering 80 mph in just 18 hours, a phenomenon that meteorologists have increasingly linked to the effects of climate change. Warmer ocean waters, fueled by global warming, provide hurricanes with more energy, allowing them to strengthen quickly and unleash unprecedented amounts of rain, according to scientists cited by the National Hurricane Center and AccuWeather.
As Erin’s winds ebbed and flowed, its overall size grew, prompting tropical storm warnings for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas. The hurricane’s outer bands brought heavy rains and tropical-storm-force winds to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, causing significant disruptions. On the morning of August 17, about 147,000 customers in Puerto Rico lost power, according to Luma Energy, the private company responsible for the island’s power grid. More than 20 flights were canceled as the storm’s rain and winds swept through. By that evening, Luma Energy announced that about 95% of customers had their power restored, with the remaining outages mostly concentrated in Caguas, Mayagüez, and San Juan, as reported by local officials.
Puerto Rico’s governor, Jenniffer González, sought to reassure residents, stating, “Today we should be overcoming the effects of the winds and rain brought by Hurricane Erin, which thank God did not have major impacts in Puerto Rico.” The University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus, along with public schools and government offices, planned to reopen on August 18, provided power could be restored in time.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the impact was also severe, with nearly the entire island of St. Thomas losing electricity early on August 17. By 9:30 p.m., power had been restored to all but about 2,000 customers. The National Weather Service warned that up to 8 inches of rain could fall in isolated areas, and flooding remained a concern as rain bands lingered.
The threat from Erin extended far beyond the Caribbean. Even though the hurricane was not expected to make direct landfall on the U.S. East Coast, its increasing size and strength posed significant dangers. The National Hurricane Center repeatedly warned of “life-threatening surf and rip currents” along the entire Eastern Seaboard, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada for the week of August 18. Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist, emphasized, “You’re dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It’s a dangerous hurricane in any event.”
By midweek, forecasters expected gusty winds and flooding tides to threaten the North Carolina Outer Banks. The National Weather Service office in Newport and Morehead City, North Carolina, cautioned, “While we still expect Erin to track well offshore, impacts along the Outer Banks due to waves and coastal flooding are expected. The risk for high rip currents will begin tomorrow and continue through the week.”
On August 17, Dare County, North Carolina, declared a state of emergency, and a mandatory evacuation order was issued for Hatteras Island—including the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras—due to the anticipated threat of coastal flooding and ocean overwash. Officials expected the impacts to begin as early as August 19 and continue through August 21. The county warned that parts of North Carolina Highway 12, the only road connecting the Outer Banks, would “likely be impassable for several days.” A high surf advisory was also issued, with forecasts of breaking waves reaching 15 to 20 feet.
Wave heights near the hurricane’s center could reach an astonishing 50 feet, according to Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan, while the Outer Banks and Virginia beaches could see storm surges and beach erosion. AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva, explained, “The storm is forecast to remain hundreds of miles off the East Coast, but beaches along the entire East Coast, from Florida to New England and Atlantic Canada, will likely experience rough surf and dangerous rip currents as Erin tracks north and eventually northeast.”
Erin’s core was forecast to pass to the east and northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas overnight and into August 18. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for these regions, with the National Hurricane Center predicting that “some increase in size and strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. Erin is likely to remain a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week.”
As the storm moved away from the Caribbean, the Coast Guard reopened all ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, signaling a gradual return to normalcy for some. Still, the risk of flash floods, mudslides, and landslides persisted, especially in areas that had already received several inches of rain.
Meanwhile, the broader Atlantic basin remained active. The National Hurricane Center was monitoring two other potential tropical disturbances—one off the North Carolina coast and another in the eastern central tropical Atlantic. The agency estimated a 20% chance of storm formation for the latter in the coming week. Should the wave develop, it would be named Fernand. As history shows, the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30, typically peaks between mid-August and mid-October, with an average of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes each year, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Erin’s rapid intensification and fluctuating power are stark reminders of the unpredictability and growing strength of Atlantic hurricanes. With communities across the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast bracing for impacts, officials continue to urge vigilance, caution, and preparation as the 2025 hurricane season enters its most active phase. For many, the lesson is clear: even storms that remain offshore can unleash chaos hundreds of miles away.
